2 Samuel 12:13

2 Samuel 12:13 says, And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.  David confessed his sin to Nathan, and Nathan said God had put away his sin, so he wouldn't die immediately.  God puts aside our sins when we confess them and accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, and we will never die spiritually nor be separated from Him.  Verse fourteen adds, Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die.  Nathan then added a howbeit and that was that since David’s actions would bring dishonor to God,  He said the child was going to die.  We might think this a great injustice to the child, but the child would immediately be transported to heaven, which is the greatest reward of all.  David and Bathsheba would be the ones to suffer.  What we need to realize is that when we as Christians sin there will be consequences in this life even though we have everlasting life with God.  Verse fifteen continues, And Nathan departed unto his house. And the LORD struck the child that Uriah’s wife bare unto David, and it was very sick.  After Nathan left, the child of David and Bathsheba was stricken by the LORD and became very sick.  Again, from the human perspective this might seem very cruel, but God sees things from the eternal perspective.  Since we are all just passing through this life to then either go to heaven or hell, the only two choices, the child was rewarded with everlasting life with God.  Verse sixteen states, David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth.  David prayed to God for the child, fasted and laid down on the ground before God and the people.  David was sincere in his appeal to God and so must we be anytime we pray.  Verse seventeen adds, And the elders of his house arose, and went to him, to raise him up from the earth: but he would not, neither did he eat bread with them.  The elders of his house attempted to get David up and have him eat, but he wouldn't do it.  Like David, if we are sincerely humbling ourself before God, we should not allow others to stop us from doing so.  Verse eighteen continues, And it came to pass on the seventh day, that the child died. And the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead: for they said, Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spake unto him, and he would not hearken unto our voice: how will he then vex himself, if we tell him that the child is dead? After a week, the child died and David’s servants were afraid to tell him for fear of what he might do to himself when he heard the news.  Our fellow believers should never be afraid to tell us bad news because they are afraid of how we will react.  Verse nineteen declares, But when David saw that his servants whispered, David perceived that the child was dead: therefore David said unto his servants, Is the child dead? And they said, He is dead.  When David heard how his servants were whispering, he perceived that the child was dead and asked them.  They told him that the child was dead.  If we have bad news that we are reluctant to share with someone, we certainly have to tell them the truth when they ask us.  Verse twenty adds, Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his apparel, and came into the house of the LORD, and worshipped: then he came to his own house; and when he required, they set bread before him, and he did eat.  After receiving the news, David got up, cleaned up, went to the house of the Lord and worshipped Him, and then went to his own house and asked for food.  When we realize that something we have been praying and agonizing about is settled, we need to get up and worship God before we do anything else, even if we don't get the answer that we wanted.  Then, we need to get on with our life following God's leadership.